Healing
by followtheechoes
Summary: Jacob Black ran from La Push when he got the wedding invitation, heartbroken and desperate to escape. What he found was a community who knew all about the shapeshifters that protected them, a place he could begin to heal.
1. Chapter 1: Running

**Author's Note:** Welcome to Healing! I'm going to play fast and loose with canon because that's what makes fanfiction more fun, in my opinion. I don't own anything from the Twilight world, just the few characters I've put into it and of course the plot. I hope you like where this goes.

This first chapter is a short one, just to get us to where we need to be.

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**Chapter One: Running**

Jacob Black was running. He had fled from his home, his heartbreak and everyone who had ever known him. There was no going back, not in his mind at least. That wedding invitation had been the final straw, the thing that had broken the final bit of courage that he had been holding onto. There was no way in hell he was about to hang around and watch Bella get married to the bloodsucker. He couldn't, not when his heart was already breaking so hard that he could barely breathe through the crushing weight that had settled on his chest. But somehow he managed to keep on running, to hold the broken pieces together just well enough that four legs carried him through the forest and as far away from La Push as he could manage.

He snapped and snarled, angry at the world around him even though it had done nothing to him. It was there to witness his pain though and that was enough for him. He had to vent that undeniable rage somewhere, better at the world in general than at a living thing. The longer he ran, paws pounding hard on the grass and dirt, the more sure he was that he could not turn back. What was left for him at home anyway? A thousand versions of 'I told you so' and knowing looks from the rest of the pack.

Guilt washed over him as he thought about his dad, the one person who had been there for him unconditionally. And yet.. it wasn't enough to stop his paws from moving or his heart from breaking. Trees rushed past him, leading on to grass and rocks. He paid no attention to his surroundings apart from to ensure nobody was around to see him. Giant wolves did rather stick out no matter how much of a blur he was as he ran. All it took was one overzelous hunter with a gun and it would be game over.

A traitorous part of his mind whispered 'like it would matter'.

Jake had lost track of how far he had run or where he was by the time he stopped. He panted heavily, exhausted from his pace and how long he had kept it up. His ears twitched as the sound of running water reached them. A stream? It did not take him long to find it, all but submerging his muzzle in the water as he drank gladly. He was so caught up in it that he did not hear pawsteps approaching and he did not smell that he was no longer alone. Only when he looked up did he see a huge bear standing on the other side of the stream, watching him with curious eyes.

He stepped backwards, all but tripping over his own paws. He was really not here for a fight. But he was surprised when the bear let out a huff that sounded almost like laughter, or whatever the bear version of laughter might have been. He was even more surprised when the bear held up one paw in what would have been a 'hold on a second' gesture coming from a human and then ambled away behind a tree. Though a moment later it was not a bear stepping out from behind that tree but a woman, perhaps twenty years old or so, with long black hair woven into a plait and tanned skin. She wore a simple dress, one that was easy to carry around when she wanted to shift shape.

"You don't have to look so surprised," she said to him with notes of laughter in her voice. "Haven't you ever met another skinwalker before?"

He shook his head but realised there was no having a conversation like this so he turned his back on her and returned to human form, pulling in his shorts before turning around again. There was no real shame in him any more, not after having so many in his head and around him when he phased.

"I have... just not a bear," he replied with what might have been a smile in better circumstances, not quite able to meet her eyes. "Is that what you call it? Skinwalker?"

"Skinwalker, shapeshifter, it's all the same," she told him with a shrug. "I've never met a wolf before though. They must be sacred to your people like the bear is to mine." Her lips curved into a smile and Jake wondered if that was pride he heard in her voice. How long had it been since he had been proud of what he was? Now it was just a burden.

"I guess." He still couldn't bring himself to look at her properly. She was so proud of what she was, so sure of herself. And if he looked at her then he was sure she would see the anger and shame that he was drowning in. Somehow that felt like it might be even worse than having to feel it himself.

"I'm Lily," she said softly, looking at him curiously and wondering why he kept his eyes on the ground as much as possible. It made no sense to her but there was definitely a reason behind it. "What's your name?"

"I'm-" He began to introduce himself, forcing himself to look at her for just a moment as he did. But in doing so his eyes met hers and one moment was all it took. The air had been sucked out of his lungs, catching in his throat as he swore for a moment his heart completely stopped.

"My imprint," she finished his sentence in little more than a whisper of complete awe and surprise. All Jake could do was stare back at her, his world crashing down even further than it had already. How was that even possible?


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome

**Author's Note: ** Lily's tribe doesn't actually exist, I didn't want to do an injustice to the culture and history of an existing one. The romance here is going to be a slow burn, so I hope you're happy to come along for the ride!

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**Chapter Two: ****Welcome**

Jake followed Lily through the trees, his heart still pounding in his chest. He had no idea what he was doing or why he was trusting her enough to just follow her to the heart of the res that she called home. In truth he had nowhere else to go so perhaps it was not such a terrible plan. Still, he didn't know anything about her other than the fact that she happened to be able to turn into a huge bear. His mind kept wandering to Bella, comparing the two of them which he knew was so wrong.

When they broke the treeline he was confronted with a place not unlike La Push; houses scattered about with community buildings and an open area for bonfires. But what he was not prepared for was the fact that there was a huge bear, obviously a shapeshifter, just out in the open. He froze, not sure what to make of that. Weren't they worried about the secret?

Lily turned to look at him, her lips curving into a little smile of amusement. "I guess home isn't like this?" she asked, gesturing to the bear to show what she meant.

Jake shook his head. "Nobody knows apart from the pack and the council," he replied, causing her smile to turn into a frown.

"So you have to hide it and pretend you're what, just hanging out getting into trouble?" That sounded insane to her and it was obvious from her tone. "Isn't that a really hard way to live?"

He thought about it for a moment and sighed. "Yeah, it is. It's okay for me, my dad's the Chief so he knows about the wolf thing. But some of the others, their families think they're in a gang." He had never considered the cost of keeping it a secret before. But being there, seeing a small child happily climbing over the bear as if that was the most natural thing in the world, he had to wonder. Would the tribe be able to accept the wolves if they knew?

"Has everyone here... always known?" he asked after a moment of silence.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, for as long as anyone can remember. Everyone who comes from a family line of bears grows up knowing they might be one too, so they can be prepared. Nobody outside the tribe comes here, and if they do then whoever is on patrol sends word so we can de-bear the place." She added that last part with a little laugh and, despite everything, Jake couldn't help smiling along with her.

"Besides, who's going to believe it if they hear a kid talking about people turning into bear? It's an easy secret to keep if we keep it as a community." She wondered what it would be like to pretend to be human, to have to hide the thing that she was proudest of. She realised quickly how tough it would be and would not wish that upon anyone. "Nobody here will so much as blink at seeing a giant wolf, not once they know you're here. If... if you want to stay a while," she added softly, hoping beyond all else he would want to stick around. She had just met him, she didn't know how she would handle losing him.

Jake looked at the ground, wondering if he could stay, if he should. But the way she was looking at him and the promise of the freedom La Push didn't offer him... maybe that was just enough to make him push his fears away.

"Okay." He forced the word out before he could let the traitorous part of his mind win, the part that told him that this was going to go wrong. Sure she was his imprint but what did that even mean? He had felt it through the pack mind, the way that Sam felt about Emily. But he had also felt how it had changed Leah's whole world. Jake didn't know if he was capable of being what Lily needed or if she could be what he needed either. The spirits might have thought so but he was not about to trust them fully, not yet.

Her face lit up in a smile and something in his heart ached. She wouldn't smile if she knew how unsure he was. Damn if he wasn't a heartless bastard for giving her hope where there might not be any.

"Come on then, wolf boy," she began playfully. "If you're going to stick around you'd better meet the Chief." She turned and lead him through the res. Jake noticed how many people gave her a smile or said hello as she passed. She was well-liked by her community, that was for sure. He walked behind her as they approached a man in his fifties who was built of nothing but muscle, obviously a shapeshifter just judging by his build.

"Pick up a stray, Lily?" he asked with a teasing tone, drawing a little curve of Jake's lips. He reminded him of his dad somehow, something in his presence spoke of an easy going man but still with definite control of the situation. He did his best to ignore the pang of guilt he felt, knowing his dad must be worried about him after he just took off like that. But what would he even say if he called home? He didn't know how to explain.

"Something like this," she replied with a little laugh. "Jake, this is our chief, Jonah."

Jake instinctively stuck out his hand, earning himself a little smile from the big man who gripped his hand and shook it. There was not mistaking the warmth that radiated from a shapeshifter's skin, not to either of them.

"So, what do you change into?" Jonah asked with a raised eyebrow, obviously curious.

"A wolf," Jake replied with a shrug. It was no big deal, but it wouldn't be to someone surrounded by wolves. The same way as the two of them being bears would not seem like such a big thing either.

"And you're Lily's imprint." He didn't phrase it like a question, he did not need to. Jonah had taken one look at the two of them and seen it clear as day. But this wolf in front of him did not seem entirely thrilled by it and he did not know why. Not that he supposed it was any of his business to know or not know.

Jake nodded in response to the question, purposefully not looking at Lily. If he had he would have seen the look of hurt in her eyes at the way he reacted. Not even a smile.

"Well, then you are most welcome here. I'm sure Lily and her brothers will make room for you." Jonah glanced at her for confirmation of his and she forced a smile and nodded. She didn't need to air her current issues to her chief. He had more than enough to worry about without her offloading onto him. "Good, then why don't you show Jake to where he'll be staying?" He shooed the two of them off with a smile.

They walked in silence for a little while, neither of them really knowing what to say. The tension was obvious and it was Lily that broke first.

"They aren't actually my brothers," she began, deciding it was a safe topic of conversation and not too heavy like anything she wanted to ask him would have been. "We all grew up together though, their parents took turns keeping us all in line." And living together once they were old enough to move out just made the most sense to the three of them.

"My friends are like that, brothers but not really," Jake found himself replying. At least he was sharing a little something about himself and that was certainly a good start. God, there was another reason to feel guilty. Quil and Embry had no idea where he had run off to or why.

It didn't occur to him until they reached the house that if she lived apart from her parents then she had to be over a certain age. He observed her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if it would be even worse if she realised he was younger than her. But in the end he decide this whole thing was enough of a shitshow that he might as well just put it out there.

"How old are you?" he asked cautiously. She paused in her tracks and looked at him, wondering where the sudden curiosity had come from.

"Twenty," she replied, a little frown settling on her face when she realised she had no idea how old he was either and the sinking feeling then when he told her she was not going to like the answer. "Do I want to know?" she asked hesitantly.

Jake shook his head. "Not really. Want me to tell you anyway?"

Lily considered it for a moment then nodded. But when he said "seventeen" she groaned in abject horror. Seventeen. He was still a kid in comparison. "Jesus... you're still in high school... Well doesn't that just make me feel creepy as fuck." It happened, of course it happened, but that did not mean she felt any less weird about imprinting on him. Three years was not a lot but when one of them was still in school it felt like a giant gap between them.

Jake couldn't help it, he had to laugh at the way she reacted and something in the tension between them broke. She lightly smacked his arm and said, "It's not funny! You wouldn't be laughing if you were the one imprinting on jailbait." Still, she could not fight back her smile for long. There was something infectious about his laughter that she could not resist.

"I'm over sixteen, you're safe," he replied, still laughing. She rolled her eyes at him in response to that. He had a point but it didn't make it less weird for the moment at least.

"Be sure to tell the cops that when they come to arrest her," came a voice from the doorway, a guy in his twenties observing the two of them with a grin.

"Moron," Lily grumbled but there was definite affection in her voice. "Jake, this is Sawyer. I'm rethinking our friendship right now."

Jake looked from one to the other. It was easy to see how close they were and his inner wolf growled in jealousy. What the hell was that? He frowned for a moment, thinking he had felt enough jealousy lately to last him a lifetime.

"Liar, you love me," Sawyer replied with a laugh before turning his attention to Jake, giving him a reassuring smile. "Welcome to the family, kid. You'll get used to us, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3: Heritage

Chapter Three: Heritage

The next morning, Jake woke up and for a moment did not remember what had happened. He opened his eyes and looked around the unfamiliar room before his brain caught up with him and he remembered it all. He sighed and sat up, still feeling very unsure of himself. Lily and her 'brothers' were great, they had been nothing but nice to him. But letting her in was something that he could not make himself do, not yet. The last time he had let someone in had hardly ended well and he wasn't over it yet.

He made his way down the stairs and walked into the kitchen to see Sawyer and Luke eating pancakes at the table. They gave him a smile and greeted him as he sat down, pushing a stack towards him.

"Boss lady threatened us with a very painful death if we didn't save you some," Sawyer said with a laugh. Jake couldn't help smiling in amusement. Lily was a fair bit shorter than him, though still tall for a girl. He somehow couldn't see her being able to take the larger shifter.

"Don't doubt it," Luke added with a smirk. "She took a chunk out of him last summer for attempting to tell her who she could and couldn't date."

Sawyer groaned at the memory. "Not one of my shinier moments. But come on, she's our sister in every way that counts!"

The smile wiped clean off Jake's face at the thought of Lily dating someone, even if it was in the past. What the hell was that? It was a familiar feeling but not one he should have been feeling for someone he just met, right? Even if she was his imprint. Yet there he was, jealous as hell.

"Where is she anyway?" he asked as casually as he could manage though he saw the looks on the bear shifters' faces and knew he had not been even half as casual as he would have liked. Damn it.

"She caught babysitting duties," Sawyer replied with a shrug. "A newly shifted bear means a giant furball with an attitude problem so one of us has to babysit them to make sure they don't lose their shit too close to a human who can't heal like we can." There had been some close calls in the past so they had put the system in place to put a new shifter with an established one to even them out as much as possible and to keep everyone safe.

It made sense to Jake but he couldn't help frowning at the thought of her being in danger.

"You'll want to quit doing that if you don't want to piss her off," Luke warned him. "She's one of us, she's not fragile."

Jake knew he was right. He never treated Leah like she was fragile, she would not stand for it for even a second. But he hardly spent any time with her so he supposed he was not as used to it as he should have been.

They finished eating their breakfast in companionable silence and once done the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher. Sawyer asked if Jake wanted to go for a run and he definite did, blowing off some steam was always welcome. So the two of them set off on four paws, bear and wolf running side by side.

Unlike with the pack, Jake could not hear Sawyer in his head and he was too far from home to hear the other wolves either. The silence was oddly comforting somehow, just being able to focus on the feeling of his paws hitting the ground as they made their way through the trees. He could hear that they were not alone, there were others out there in the woods. It was a strange thing, not thinking that he had to make sure nobody saw them. There was no hiding here, no secrecy about what they were, and Jake loved it.

Sawyer slowed to a walk and so did he, looking at him curiously. The bear lifted a paw and gestured to their left to show where they were going. Jake walked with him and found himself entering a clearing where they found Lily in her human form, sitting on the grass with a black bear. It was smaller than Sawyer by quite a bit, Jake figured that meant it was a younger shifter.

Lily stopped what she was saying and looked over at them, giving them a smile. "Who said you two could gatecrash story time?" she asked playfully. She had been telling her newest brother the stories of their people to calm him enough to allow him to return to his human form.

Sawyer huffed and nudged her with his nose, making her laugh as he almost pushed her over. "Okay okay, I'll start over, you silly overstuffed teddy bear."

Sawyer sat himself down and Jake joined him, watching Lily curiously. He knew his own tribe's stories backward and inside out, it would be interesting to hear how they had become bears.

"Our people weren't always bears," she began, telling the story that she had heard hundreds of times since she had been a child. It came as easy as breathing to her.

"Once, back when our tribe was young, there was a harsh winter. Our people were starving, there was hardly enough food to go around and certainly none left over. Gathering parties went into the woods every day to try to find food that the snow and ice hadn't managed to kill, but they came back with less and less each time, sometimes nothing at all.

One day they came across a bear cub out alone in the snow. There was no sign of its mother or even a den where it might have been living. They knew it was too small to survive out there on his own. Most of the gathering party wanted to leave it there, it was no concern of theirs and there were already too many mouths to feed. But one would not hear of it.

'It is on our land, that makes it one of us now,' he argued. He took the bear cub into his arms to keep it warm and carried it all the way back to the camp. Though his food rations were small he shared them with the bear cub, preferring to go hungry than to think of the little bear starving to death out there all alone.

After a couple of days, another member of the tribe approached him and gave him some of their rations as well. 'You were right, the bear is one of us now and we do not let our own starve,' they told him. The next day someone else shared their food with the bear. Each day after, the members of the tribe took it in turns to help to feed the bear and it grew stronger.

By the time spring came the bear truly was part of the tribe. Still, the one who had taken it in to begin with knew it had to go back to the woods. Once the snow had thawed he lead the bear back into the woods to the spot where they had found it. There, waiting for him, was a bear spirit.

'Do not be afraid,' she said to him. 'I would never harm the one who kept my cub alive throughout the winter. I saw what you did and how your tribe took care of my cub together without a single thought of getting anything in return. But I will give you something, to thank you for what you did. What would you ask of me?'

He thought for a moment and realise what it was he wanted. 'All we need is to see our friend again,' he replied. 'This bear became part of the tribe and we will be sad to see it go.'

The bear spirit considered this and then spoke once more. 'Your people will always have bears among them. From this day onward those in the tribe who are strong enough and closely connected in spirit to my people will be able to take on the form of the bear. You protected my cub, now use these new forms to protect your people and any others who need you.'

And it was as the spirit said. Members of the tribe began to learn to take on their bear forms, to walk the woods seeing them with new eyes. They protected their people and their land, each winter leaving out food for the spirit and her cub, who always came back to see them until that first person who had helped them passed away. They lead him into the spirit world; three spirit bears side by side."

When the story was over, the young shapeshifter by her side was no longer in his bear form. He had managed to change back and pull on the shorts that had been waiting for him. Jake hadn't even noticed, too wrapped up in the story she was telling. But now he saw him he knew he could only have been thirteen at most.

She gave the young teenager a smile and pulled him into a one-arm hug. "Welcome to the clan, kiddo," she said with an affectionate smile. He rolled his eyes but still hugged her back.

Jake felt his heart swell with pride as he watched. His imprint really was something else.

And that wall around his heart began to crack, just a little.


	4. Chapter 4: Family

**Author's Note: **To the reader who asked about the Volturi – they don't have a place in this story. There will be vampires, but much later.

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**Chapter Four: Family**

Jake had been with the tribe of bears for a week. The more time he spent there the more he thought of home and what he was putting people through. In the end his stubbornness and pride broke down enough for him to call his dad to let him know that he was okay despite having run off like he had.

When his dad answered the phone, Jake felt a lump in his throat. Damn he felt so guilty, he could hear in his dad's voice just how tired and stressed he was. Being the cause of that made him feel like a terrible person.

"Hey dad," he said cautiously after a moment, having to force himself to speak. Lily and her brothers had vacated the house, the only way there would be any privacy considering the heightened hearing of shapeshifters. Though he could faintly hear them outside, apparently play fighting in their bear forms.

"Jake?" Billy's voice shook with emotion and it broke Jake a little more to hear it.

"Yeah dad, it's me," he replied, trying his best to keep his tone even. He could not have his dad thinking that he wasn't okay. Those wounds still ran deep and he felt pretty broken, but on the grand scheme of things he was fine.

"How are you? _Where_ are you?"

"I'm okay, don't worry." That was a stupid thing to say and he cringed as the words left his lips. "I actually found another tribe of shapeshifters. And I.. I met my imprint." Which was probably the last thing his dad would have been expecting him to say after everything he had gone through with Bella.

"What's she like?" His dad might have kept his tone light and casual but Jake could hear the hope there. He knew what that hope was for: that his imprint was not someone who would just walk away from him. There had already been enough of that in his life. His sisters had turned and run from La Push the moment they could.

"She's a shifter too, a bear like the rest of them. She's..." Jake paused, wondering how to describe Lily. He had not got to know her very well yet. "Kind, sarcastic, doesn't take crap from anyone." He smiled as he spoke, unable to help it.

"I'm glad, you need a little of that," Billy replied with a little laugh. But his laughter died as he cautiously asked, "So... are you going to stay there?"

It was not something Jake had thought about in terms of the long term. "Honestly? I don't know," he confessed. "For now anyway. I can't.."

"Can't face coming home?" his dad finished for him and Jake was suddenly glad that his dad knew him so well.

"Not right now. I need some time. But I promise to call, if that makes it any better." He certainly hoped that it did.

"It does. Be safe, Jake," his dad replied softly, making Jake's heart clench.

"I will. Talk to you later, dad."

The conversation weighed on him as he hung up the phone. He could tell his dad had been worried, that it had been effecting him. Jake hated that. He did not want to make anyone's life harder than it already was. Ever since the girls had left it had just been the two of them against the world. Maybe when he found the courage to go home they could make room for one more person, so it would be the three of them from then onward.

"Want to talk about it?" Jake turned at the sound of Lily's voice, finding her standing in the doorway. He considered it for a moment then sighed.

"I just feel like I'm letting everyone down," he confessed. He let his dad down, his tribe, the pack. And he was letting Lily down too, by not being enthusiastic over their imprint.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on yourself," she replied softly. She looked at him for a few moments then asked, "Can I give you a hug? You look like you could really use one."

His inner wolf was all but pleading with him to allow it and even though his mind was whirring he could not disagree. A hug sounded pretty good right then. He nodded and watched as she walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him. It took him a few seconds but he wrapped his arms around her too, closing his eyes and just letting himself exist in that moment. Jake breathed in her scent, realising just how soothing it was to have her close.

And all at once he wondered if he deserved this, if he deserved to have an imprint when he was still unable to give in to the pull to be with her. He moved just enough to be able to look down at her. She looked up, their eyes meeting and as they did she gave him a little smile.

"Do you overthink everything or just some things?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she observed him.

"I normally don't even think, never mind overthink," he laughed.

"No? Maybe you need a distraction to get you out of your own head," Lily suggested. She got an idea, smirked and grabbed his hand before leading him outside to where Sawyer and Luke were still playfighting in their bear forms.

She let go of Jake's hand and turned to face him. "How about it, Jake? Think a wolf can hang with bears?" she asked in a teasing tone. He knew she was goading him into it and he did not have a single complaint about that.

"More than," he replied with a laugh.

Soon enough the two of them were on four paws, joining in with the almost childish antics. It felt good to not have to be serious, to do something just because it was fun and not be tied down with responsibility. As Jake watched Sawyer flop down on top of Lily, making her groan at being rather flattened, he could not help feeling glad that even if he was not with his dad right then he had still found a family. One that was willing to accept him as he was, no questions asked.


	5. Chapter 5: Fight

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the review, Jet! You absolutely made my day. This would have been up sooner but life got a little busy.

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**Chapter Five: Fight**

It was the first time Jake had been on a patrol with the bear tribe. He had asked Jonah if there was anything he could do while he was there, not wanting to just sit around while everyone else worked. This seemed the please the chief and he had assigned him a patrol with Lily the next night. At ten they had set out through the woods on four paws, bear and wolf walking side by side.

Jake wished that he could hear her like he heard the pack when he was closer to home. There were probably a thousand things for them to talk about and he was beginning to want to talk. He did not quite understand her but he wanted to. And maybe, just maybe, she would be able to begin to understand him too. He had thought someone else did once but he had been wrong. Lily though? He got the feeling she could, if he let her.

They walked side by side along the border of the bears' territory until a scent reached their noses that had them both growling. Vampire. She glanced at him and nodded before taking off at a run, following the scent. Jake ran after her, needing to be by her side when they found the bloodsucker that was too close to the human inhabitants of the tribe for comfort. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to get hurt. Especially Lily.

In a matter of moments they had raced through the tangle of trees to find the vampire that had entered the territory in search of an easy meal. Bright red eyes glared at the two of them as he tried to decide if he should run or fight. Jake and Lily growled, both taking a step forward in warning, but the vampire decided that the odds were still in his favor and so he attacked.

He focused on Jake, lunging at him in a blur of speed. Teeth sunk into the vampire's arm, causing him to cry out in pain. But in the same motion he swung his other arm around in a crushing blow to Jake's ribs. The flash of pain was enough to make the wolf release his arm and the vampire felt a rush of victory.

It was premature though, he had forgotten about the bear who barrelled into him the moment the wolf let go. She snarled in anger and raked the vampire's side with sharp claws, pinning him to the ground. But she could not pin all of him, leaving his legs free to kick up at her. She yelped but she was not letting go, pure rage and the need to protect making her stay as she was.

Jake was up again and rushing over. Their eyes met and he understood what she wanted him to do. He locked his jaws around the vampire's head and jerked to one side, ripping it free from the body that remained trapped beneath the giant bear. Jake let it drop to the ground then flopped down, breathing heavily at the feeling of fire that burned his side. Lily got up with a wince, her left hind leg was hurt, and limped to him. She nuzzled her nose against his cheek, reassuring herself that he would be okay. He turned and licked her cheek, a promise that they were both safe now.

She moved away and shifted back to her human form, pulling on the simple dress she had with her the same way the boys always had shorts. She winced, testing her left leg by putting some weight on it. It wasn't broken but it hurt like hell. "The guys are coming. Better late than never I suppose," she told him with a hint of a smile. At least it was over now and everyone was safe.

Jake held his breath, knowing this was going to hurt, and phased back with a yelp of pain. He managed to pull on his shorts as he sat on the ground, holding his side. "Fuck..." he groaned. Lily knelt beside him, looking concerned.

"Do you think your ribs are broken?" she asked softly, wincing when he nodded. She knew that had to hurt a lot and make it hard to breathe.

She sighed in relief when she heard the sound of running, two bears breaking through the treeline. She waved to them. "It's okay, crisis averted. Can you stay and burn the body? We're both a little beat up so we're going to head back." She wasn't about to tell them it was mostly Jake's injury that had her worried, she knew a bruised male ego was no fun to be around. He gave her a grateful smile.

The two of them very slowly made their way back home with a lot of wincing and cursing being muttered under their breath. As shapeshifters they would heal quickly but for the moment they were both in pain. Jake realised as they reached the house that they had basically clung to each other to get through the whole walk home, supporting each other through the pain. He had never experienced that kind of mutual reliance before.

"Go sit down, I'll get us some ice," she told him with a little smile before limping into the kitchen. He groaned as he sat on the couch, holding his side to make the movement a little easier. Soon she was sitting down beside him, resting her leg up on the footstool and setting one icepack down on her shin. She then turned and gently held the other icepack to his side.

Jake sighed in relief at the cold pack against his aching ribs. He went to take it from her but she lightly smacked his hand to stop him, giving him a playful smile.

"It's okay, you'll hurt yourself twisting to hold it. I've got it."

He couldn't help it, there was just something about knowing she wanted to take care of him when he was hurt that made him smile. Who the hell was this girl? Fighting a vampire one minute and being so caring the next. His imprint might just be exactly what he needed after all.

Jake closed his eyes, letting the relief of the icepack on his side wash over him and allowing himself to relax. Though because she was sitting so close he could also feel the heat that she gave off the same as he did. Maybe it was a shapeshifter thing, not just a wolf thing. It was kind of comforting in a way, something familiar.

"How's your leg?" he asked after a few moments of quiet, opening his eyes to look at her again.

Lily shrugged in response. "It hurts but I'll live, I think it's just one hell of a bruise. Unlike certain people who can't seem to stay in one piece." She said that like he had been hurt a lot before but he could tell she was just teasing him, earning a smile from him.

"How about I promise to try?" he suggested with a grin.

"Would you mean it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure," Jake laughed. "Doesn't mean I'll succeed."

He couldn't help smiling when that made her laugh. Their eyes met and in that moment it was like when they had imprinted on each other; the rest of the world just fell away, leaving only the two of them. No matter how much pain he was in Jake felt kind of glad he had gone on the patrol with her. It felt like progress.


End file.
